Plug-tobacco



(No ModelJ J. a; 0. A. NORBURNI.

PLUG TOBACCO.

Patented July 15, 1884.

)VZ/essea.

' NITED' STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN NORBURN AND CHARLES A. NORBURN, OF DANVILLE, VIRGINIA.

PLUG-TOBACCO.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 301,914, dated July 15, 1884.

Application filed August 25, 1883. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, JOHN NORBURN and CHARLES A. NORBURN, citizens of the United States, residing at Danville, in the county of Pittsylvania and State of Virginia, have in" vented certain new and useful Improvements in Plug-Tobacco; and we do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference'being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to preparing and putting up plug chewing-tobacco, and has for its object to soput up a plug of tobacco in the most convenient form that will meet ,the requirements of both the retail dealer and the user. In forming the solid plug from a number of small plugs it was found that thepressure applied to formthe solid plug caused the small plugs to adhere so closely together that it was diificult for the user to detach one of them, and to overcome this difficulty our invention is designed; and it consists in taking a number of small plugs of tobaccoof suitable shape and about the size of an ordinary chew, such as is described in a patent granted to us September 4, 1883, No. 284,321, and running a pulling or drawing string of ribbon, cord, or other suitable material between and around each small plug, so that by pulling one end of the ribbon or string a plug or chew can be separated and pulled off, one at a time, without disturbing the remaining number of chews or plugs, the whole being united by pressure to form a solid plug,which is placed in a suitable box, as more fully hereinafter described,

view of a series of plugs with the pulling rib-' bon or string in position; Fig. 3, a vertical sectional View of the same, and Fig. 4 amodi fication.

In carrying out our invention We take a number of small plugs, A, which have been 0 pressed into a suitable shape and size, arrange them side by side, and run a pulling string or ribbon, B, over the top of the first small plug, as at a; then running it down between the first and second plugs and around the bottom of the second plug, as at a; and thence upward between the second and third plugs and over the third, thus continuing the operation until the last plug is reached, when the string may be secured to the plug, if desired. Af- 6o ter the ribbon or string has been placed in position, as described, the plugs are then put into a mold or form and subjected to pressure sufficient to cause them to slightly adhere together and form a solid plug, 0, the pulling-string allowing them to be separated by a slight pull given to one end of the string. The solid plug thus formed is then packed in a suitable box, D, properly labeled, and is then ready for the. market. one of its endsd made in the form of aflap, so that it may be used to withdraw the box from its cover d.

It is obvious that the small plugs may be formed by cutting up large plugs and then uniting them. together in the manner above described, with the pulling-string running but a short distance between each' plug, then re turning and passing over the next plug, and

so on until the last plug is reached, when the string is passed around it and up between the shown in Fig. 4, without departing from the principle or sacrificing the advantage of our invention, as the object of the invention is to the convenience of the user, who is permitted to take off sufficient tobacco for a chew without the trouble of biting or cutting; and to do this he is enabled, by means of the pulling- 0 string, to readily disengage one of the small plugs at will without disturbing the remainder, thereby keeping them intact and free from any danger of becoming dry, as would be the case if all were separated.

Having fully described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The box D has 70 As a new article of manufacture, a plug of In testimony whereof we afiix our signatures tobacco composed of a series of small plugs in presence of two witnesses.

having a pulling-string inserted between the JOHN NORBURN.

respective small plugs, the whole being united CHAS. A. NORBURN. 5 by pressure, whereby the plugs can be sepa- Witnesses:

rated when required for use by pulling on the P. R. JONES,

string, substantially as specified. Rom. J AMIESON. 

